Meet the CVFSA Awards Committee for 2018

Later this week the CVFSA will announce the winner of this Year’s Lifetime Achievement Award. We just wanted to briefly reflect on the committee of professionals who were tasked with selecting this year’s recipient. The committee was a gender-balanced committee consisting of two men and two women from various parts of the Nation. For a balance of continuation of knowledge and procedure, Mark Pound from Kentville, Nova Scotia again acted this year as chairperson on behalf of the Association. Mark is a member of the Kentville Volunteer Fire Department and is a Medical First Responder. He also is part of the Canadian Red Cross Disaster Response Team. Mark serves on the Board of Directors for the Nova Scotia Firefighters School.

New to the committee this year was Firefighter/EMT/Hazmat Technician Shauna Baccus of the Saskatoon Fire Department. Shauna has been a member of the Saskatoon Fire Department for the past 18 years where she serves on the department’s Honour Guard. Shauna earned a certificate in Fire Service Leadership from Dalhousie University and is currently working on a Bachelor’s Degree in Fire/Arson Investigations and Explosions from Eastern Kentucky University. She is also currently enrolled in the Chief Officer Development Program.

New to the Committee this year is Firefighter/MFR Peter Simpson, a member of the Dayspring Volunteer Fire Department, in Nova Scotia. Until his retirement 5 years ago, Peter was president and CEO of the Greater Vancouver Home Builders Association. Peter was appointed by the Nova Scotia Minister of Finance to the Advisory Committee on Adjudicative Boards for the Department of Finance and Treasury Board. He also serves on the Board of the Western Regional Housing Authority. Peter brings with him a wealth of information on residential sprinkler systems and building codes.

Representing Quebec and holding a Master’s Degree in Aerospace Engineering is Atousa Pourfard who also is a level one Welding Inspector and a Pipeline Construction Inspector. She formerly served in British Columbia as a volunteer for Emergency Social Services.

Rejoining the Committee this year is Firefighter Ryan Coutts a member of the Lesser Slave Regional Fire Service. He is also a member of the Firesmart Crew that does wildland/urban interface deployments.

This was a team who brought diverse knowledge into our selection committee.